kkleiner writes: Here’s a disconcerting thought: for the past thirty years, genes have been patentable. And we’re not just talking genetically modified corn – your genes, pretty much as they exist in your body, can and have been patented. The US government reports over three million gene patent applications have been filed so far; over 40,000 patents are held on sections of the human genome, covering roughly 20% of our genes. Upset? You’re not alone.

Isolation and purification are the key aspects when patenting discoveries of natural biological processes. Was it ok to patent adrenaline for treatment use? That seems reasonable to me. Would it be ok to patent the stop codons and claim anything that uses them is an infringement? Not so reasonable. Design a drug targeting certain gene expressions - sounds good. Patent a gene causing disease and squat the territory to collect a share of anyone's work related to that gene - not so good.